VALUED LOCAL SERVICE FOR PEOPLE TO GET TO WORK AND LEISURE FASILITIES AND IT DISADVANTAGES ELDERLY AND DISABLED PEOPLE WHO DO NOT DRIVE OR HAVE A CAR.

Whilst speaking to a colleague recently, I was shocked to hear that wild animals (such as camels and zebras) are still being used in circuses - right here in Bristol and across England. I haven't been to a circus since I was a child and naively assumed we'd outlawed the practice. Keeping wild animals in cages, before forcing them to perform tricks for our entertainment is cruel and archaic - and has no place in a modern, animal-loving society. According to PETA's website, Scotland and Wales have already been taking steps to ban the use of wild animals in circuses - whilst just this week the Republic of Ireland have announced a ban from next year (with Northern Ireland expected to follow suit). However, the government in England appear to have been dragging their feet for years over this issue - even though 94 percent of people support a ban. I think it's high-time we changed this and enforce our own ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, as soon as possible.

Fishing Clubs, fishing methods and therefore fishing in Wales is at imminent risk from NRWs proposed fishery byelaws 2017. Byelaws must sustain fishing aswell as fish stocks under a sustainable management of natural resources approach. The potential knock on impacts of the proposed byelaws are likely to lead to excessive illegal fishing which could not be policed. Critical evidence - Catch Return Data - would be lost due to absenteeism of fishermen from rivers. Revised management measures must therefore be developed which do not carry the same residual risks. Sustained and increased participation in fishing through empowerment and attention to catchment specific issues will establish a progressive means of achieving healthy fish stocks and the wellbeing of fishing clubs, contributing positively to local economies. Harmonisation of the overall approach can only succeed where fish are protected from destruction and harm in the near coastal waters in particular. Following an integrated approach, the river environments must be optimised to receive and support adult and juvenile fish. At present there are obvious gains to be made that are being neglected due to insufficient funding and contradictory roles and responsibilities within NRW.

The Scottish Govenment National Transport Strategy sets out three Key Strategic Outcomes to be used as the guiding principles at national, regional and local level when developing strategy and prioritising resources. These are: Improved journey times and connections, to tackle congestion and lack of integration and connections in transport. Reduced emissions, to tackle climate change, air quality, health improvement. Improved quality, accessibility and affordability, to give choice of public transport, better quality services and value for money or alternative to car.

Each breath we take causes us harm. 25 people are killed each day as a result of air pollution in London. A child born a Londoner today could be 23 before they could expect to breathe clean air. More than 950 UK schools are on or near illegally polluted roads. Children's lungs are stunted by this exposure resulting in life long health impacts. Michael Gove recently announced that heavily polluting vehicles will be allowed on our roads until 2040. This is criminal negligence. Our government are spending UK taxes fighting a legal battle on this issue rather than working to save lives. They have been in court 3 time already. We know clean air is possible and we demand it as a human right. Because our politicians refuse to take responsibility a group of compassionate citizens #stopkillinglondoners are in prison as of 7th Nov 2017 after a week of radical direct actions. They are currently on hunger strike (9-11-17).

Mellish Street Community Centre has been a central part of The Isle of Dog since the NHS built it in 2005, in one form or another. The building was left as a legacy by the NHS to the Community and today it is used by a local charity named the Docklands Community Organisation(DCO) which is a consortium of a host of Voluntary organisations all based on the Isle of Dogs. The organisation provides a host of activities but not limited to: youth groups, after school supplementary education clubs for local school children, fitness classes, adult education, health education, gardening projects and much more. It is important that Tower Hamlets Council recognise and support its status as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) so that it cannot be sold on for unsympathetic other uses without the community knowing and first having the chance to buy it. Granting Mellish Street Community Centre as an Asset of Community Value status gives the local community the time it requires to raise the funds required to save the centre. The Centre was left derelict for number of years. Residents from the local community invested over £70,000 to bring it to a habitable state and have been maintaining it. In addition, the ACV registration should be taken into account when planning applications on the building are made and can be grounds for refusal where this would strip the building of its use or result in demolition. Community centres such as the Mellish Street Community Centre play a pivotal part in community life, providing activities and a focal point for the community. Among the benefits that come from activities in community buildings are: less social isolation, healthier living, more education and better training, better support for young families and the elderly and access to local democracy. Mellish Street Community Centre serves an important purpose for the local community and we will do everything we can to save it. This petition is asking Tower Hamlets Council to grant ACV status to the Mellish Street Community Centre, to give us, the Isle of dog’s community, the time we need to raise the funds to save the community centre, for us and for our children. We also seek the Council to grant the Docklands Community Organisation to enter into a long lease and seek a Community Asset transfer and/or Community Right to Reclaim Land so that we can have the Community Right to Build a new permanent community centre with ancillary provision to meet the needs of Islanders within the meaning and spirit of the Localism Act so that the site can be developed at no cost to the Council.

In order to save from extinction and to re-build Welsh Migratory Salmon and Sea Trout stocks to their former glory of yesteryear! The National Rivers Authority (NRW) admits that migratory fish stocks in Wales are in a 'very bad condition'! My friends and I have fished the River Tywi for over 30 years and have seen a dramatic collapse in migratory fish stocks over that period, to a point today when it's hardly worth going out on the river to fish at all. Hotels and B & B's were busy in those days back then but now, like the salmon and sea trout, there are very few of them left! Very few rod and line anglers will kill their catch these days but will instead safely return their catch to the river so that they may continue on their way to their spawning grounds! Commercial trawlers and estuary nets-man kill everything that gets caught in their nets! Factory ships digest everything that they catch, including the sand eels that the salmon, sea trout and even sea bass rely on! By suspending these unsustainable fishing practices, both at sea and in our river estuaries the people of Wales and visiting anglers will not only see improving fish stocks but the Welsh people themselves will experience a significant boost in the Welsh Tourist Economy, similar to that of the highly successful and world renowned Scottish salmon angling economy of today. By calling time on the commercial exploitation of salmon, sea trout and sea bass, to name just 3 species, the Welsh Government and the people of Wales will see increased employment prospects in hotels, restaurants and shops as tourists flock once more from all over the world to fish the amazing rivers of Wales for a chance to catch that hopefully less elusive Sewin (sea trout) or salmon! If the current decline in fish stocks is allowed to continue and with no anglers on the rivers to report pollution incidents then the rivers of Wales will almost certainly decline beyond any hope of future recovery! That will be a sad day for Wales and a sad day for us all!

By making Chalky Meadow an asset of community value we will be in a very strong position to protect the site and help it thrive. We would like this meadow to be looked after by the community for the community. Chalky Meadow has become one of the last pockets of wild nature in Thaxted; we would like to keep it this way, we would like Thaxted to be proud to protect its wildlife for future generations to come.

Xplore are proposing two alternative routes to the 32/33 bus which would cut out Forfar Road. Their consultation highlights that the route could also stay as it is. You can see the proposed two route changes at this link http://nxbus.co.uk/files/NXDundee/misc/FintryRouteReview-PublicConsultationDocument.pdf This re-routing would severely restrict people's ability for travel: • make it harder for people with disabilities and older people with mobility problems to catch a bus and get out of the house, potentially leading to loneliness and social isolation • safety concerns of having to work through a scheme to get to/and from the bus • get to and from work • visit friends and relatives • access education and training • access to hospitals, doctors, dentists and other medical services • access to leisure activities including town and countryside locations Fewer buses on the road will mean more traffic congestion and delays which affects all of us.

The High Peak area is almost completely devoid of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Between Stalybridge and Sheffield there is a distance of over 30 miles without any publicly available chargers. Given the serious traffic congestion in the area you would expect the local authority to be doing all they can to promote alternative fuel sources to mitigate air pollution, noise and climate change. Electric vehicles will not solve congestion, but diesel and petrol engines are causing excessive and unnecessary harm as the government has recently indicated by targeting a ban on the sale of fossil fuel only cars by 2040. High Peak is currently not in a position to meet this target and risks lagging behind nearby areas. High Peak needs to take advantage of funding sources available for the cost of electric charging and show some leadership in the field - Greater Manchester has an extensive network of free to use charging points.

The GREEN Team Canterbury, a local voluntary community group, has worked hard for the past few years to expose the enormous amount of perfectly good items going to waste in landfill during student relocation, which begins in May every year and continues over a period of about three weeks. The waste is plain to see but we have found much of the contents of bins and sacks is not RUBBISH! These include: CROCKERY, CUTLERY, POTS & PANS, ELECTRICALS, ELECTRONICS, CLOTHES, SHOES, BAGS, CDS & DVDS, JEWELLRY, BRIC A BRAC, SOFT FURNISHINGS, TOWELS, BOOKS, STATIONERY, BEDDING, AND NON-PERISHABLE FOOD. The sheer amount being thrown out is mind boggling, both on and off campuses, and would inundate our city's charity shop sector. Many students have no way of getting their unwanted possessions to them anyway. Added to this is the fact that most of this stuff is ideal for the following year’s students and we think that these items should be available in year round on campus free shops. There were many smiling faces when these items were redistributed at our Pop-up Free Shops over the past three summers. There was also shock that these items, some even new and unused (still sealed in their packaging!), were headed to landfill until they were covertly intercepted by The GREEN Team Canterbury. So much more could be achieved with an official well publicised scheme that doesn’t require going through contaminated rubbish to recycle unwanted stuff. There are already numerous schemes operating both nationally and globally. This is not rocket science. This can be done. We have been in contact with Canterbury City Council and local educational institutions for some time but unfortunately no scheme as yet has been planned. We are therefore petitioning the above to show the amount of support for a scheme and to spur them into action. Councils are being required to reduce landfill and may face penalties for non compliance with both national and Europe wide targets. Meanwhile our planet and its people are crying out for change. This would be good for all, especially the following year’s students. We think all the parties involved should work together and create a viable official and well publicised scheme in time for the next student relocation in May 2018. So please show your support and sign this petition as well as share it widely, thanks. Best wishes, Mark & Diane, co-founders, The GREEN Team Canterbury http://www.facebook.com/thegreenteamcanterbury [email protected] http://thegreenteamcanterbury.zohosites.com #thegreenteamcanterburypetition

The Westway Trust are about to resubmit their plans for the redevelopment of Portobello Green to RBKC. These plans have not changed since the consultation last November . I don't believe our views have been heard. Firstly, Westway claim to support local businesses - however the council have leased the huge space under the Westway opposite Sainsbury's on Ladbroke Grove to Pret a Manger. This will affect all the small food businesses in the area. Westway haven't objected to this and this shows they clearly aren't working with the council on getting the right local retail mix. Secondly Westway are not working with the market operator to control the quality of the stalls in the market. There is far too much tourist tat for sale. There is no point redeveloping the area unless there is a clear vision to protect and enhance what visitors are coming for in the first place. Westway do not understand this. The plans are on show at westway.org/portobello. You can make any comments/objections etc to the plans at westway.org/yourwestway. I would like the Westway Trust to appoint a competent person to have responsibility for ensuring the Westway Trust, RBKC and the Portobello Market lessees all work together to ensure that all market stalls under the ultimate control of the Westway Trust maintain the reputation of Portobello Market.. This person needs to ‘curate' the market and bring in new interesting vendors to help regenerate interest in the market. This person also needs to ensure that future conflicts of interest, such as the signing of the lease to Pret a Manger, do not happen again. Once I have a decent number of signatures on this petition I will approach the Westway Trust to discuss this proposal. Please let's all try and force the Westway Trust to be better at their job before it's too late. Thank you.